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Bukkit has finally promoted a 1.2 compatible build to stable status. DO NOT rush out and update your clients though. You see, during their update to 1.2, they cleaned up and optimized a lot of code in bukkit, and in the API. In doing so, they broke just about every plugin we run on the server. Almost none of the plugins have been updated so far to be bukkit 1.2 compatible. I am keeping my eye on the situation and will update the server as soon as possible. Right now, however, the waiting game continues. Keep an eye on the Official Server Changelog thread as I post all updates there.

Looks like we may be in for the long haul guys. Some of the plug-ins that we rely on either don't have updates in the foreseeable future or have been stopped being developed all together. There are a few viable options that are possibilities in the future. I am open to everyone's thoughts on the situation, though please keep in mind it is more administrative stuff that is the problem. If we were to upgrade to the current stable build of 1.2.x then we would loose the ability to both investigate and rollback any issues. Suggesting that we go on would be suggesting that we have a free for all server. If there are issues, no one would be able to help resolve it in an orderly fashion.

Basically, the biggest issue is that LogBlock (which logs all block creation/destruction to a MySQL database and lets us roll things back, also it's what allows me to generate the neat web stats) has been abandoned by its developer due to the fact that they stopped playing Minecraft about 5 months ago. It looks like some other community members have picked up development, but I'm not sure how quickly they're progressing or if the code they are producing is stable at this point.

Is LogBlock the only thing that would stop functioning? Also, I read it might still be working, and there are 1.2 servers listed as running it (though I realize that doesn't necessarily mean it's running functionally). You gotten a chance to set up a test environment for it?

I attempted the update at one point, at least one of the plugins caused massive failure and I'm pretty sure it was LogBlock. There are some nightly builds of LogBlock that allegedly support the latest stable bukkit, but they're nightly builds... I don't exactly trust them.

Also, there's more than just LogBlock that is outdated. Pretty much every plugin we run hasn't been updated in quite some time. LogBlock is just the most important one.

Minecraft is now out to 1.2.5. We are still running 1.1.0. To be honest, I'm not really sure what the difference is between a 'stable' status build is versus an on-time release, but we're getting so far behind that I'm beginning to think that our plugins are not worth it. We save regular backups (every 24 hours if I'm not mistaken), and bobby is a regular and capable admin, so I guess i'm having trouble seeing the fear of using new content without the slew of protective plugins.

I just feel that by keeping up to date, not only will we have more to play with and miss out on less, we'll also have more appeal to players. We're not going to grow or attract new players when we are 4 versions (or more) behind. We will lose players instead. Is it worth it? What does the server gain by staying so far behind?

The slew of protective plugins being what allows him to do that productive admin-ing. Part of this problem will go away when bucket finishes their team integration into Mojang and then it will only be on devs to keep up with the overall updates.

Believe me, I want to play with the new version as much as anyone. I'm working with Bobby to come up with a solution that will allow us to upgrade as soon as possible. I assure you, it will happen as soon as we have an acceptable solution. Until then, I'm sorry but you'll just have to be patient.

Also, there is not a "slew" of protective plugins. There are 2 critical ones, and due to developer burnout 1 of them hasn't been updated in 5 months. Other developers took it over recently, but they haven't had much time to get things up to date with the massive changes in v1.2 bukkit.

Thank you guys for doing all this crap to find us an upgrade solution. We really do appreciate it! No worries Ardi; tomorrow is still sooner than I think any of us were expecting a solution to be found, take your time!

I know there is a utility that allows for partial backups to be made frequently without eating a ton of space.

I use(d) it on the server I run (ran) for a long time. I had it set to do a full sized backup every 24 hours of the server and also a partial backup every 5 minutes. After the the full backup was done, the 5 minute backup only saved the changes done in the time between itself and last update whether it was the full update or another partial. That way you could roll back to any 5 minute period on the server and it only took roughly double the space of a normal backup.

Granted I am not sure how big Icrontic's map file is since mine was private for about 10 people or so, but I never reached over 100 megs. So I was looking at about 2 gigs of map data at any given time, as I liked to keep the last week of files at any given point.

The utility also lets you backup the entire minecraft folder, not just the map file. Plugins, settings, player data and all.

So if your worry is being able to just revert to a previous save easily, this could be a good solution. If you want to be able to revert specific player actions over a period of time, that is another thing.

The server has been updated and is converting the map to the new format as we speak.

@d3k0y I already have a custom system in place to do backups daily. That was never the concern. The concern was 1) accountability - backups don't tell you WHO dynamited someones building and replaced with with a giant obsidian cock. 2) backups only allow you to roll back the whole map to the previous backup, the admin tools we have allow us to roll back only specific changes to a time we specify. They are much more precise.

I am not an incompetent admin (as some of you seem to think). I generally know what I'm doing.

I'll work on redesigning the Zombie Grinder so we can swipe at their feet.

We have discovered a jungle biome and set up a small fishing hut at -195, -4340. Many cats have been found and tamed already.

Do make sure to share (ie: if you have a couple already, give others a chance to get a couple before you clear the Jungle of them). From what I understand they spawn similar to other passive mobs and will not respawn.

NOTE: Cats are loud and annoying. Keep this in mind when you are parking your cats. Canti is a special case (We know this). We will have to see how The House Of Cats goes.

Another jungle was found on our way back from the other jungle. It is untouched as of yet, and the one we were in was huge and is sure to have more cats about (we only took enough need to start breeding them).

2nd jungle is at: -250, -3200.

another note: Jungle redwood trees produce shit for saplings. Don't expect to get more than 1 sapling out of a tree. You probably won't.